"Actor: Roberta"

• The Postman | DVD | (25/09/1998) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Falling from the Oscar-winning glory of Dances with Wolves to the opposite end of the critical and box-office scale, Kevin Costner must have been deeply humbled when this three-hour postapocalyptic tale--his sophomore effort as a director--was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid audience response. One of the most conspicuous flops of its decade, the 1997 release must have seemed like a sure thing on paper: a kind of futurist Western starring Costner as a charismatic drifter-turned-hero who leads the resistance against a military tyrant (Will Patton) by reviving the long-dormant postal system to reunite isolated communities in their fight for freedom. The movie bombed, but, like many audacious failures, it's got qualities that make it at least partially endearing, and its earnestness (although bordering on corny) keeps it from being entirely silly. Faint praise, perhaps, but Costner's ode to patriotism is occasionally stirring and visually impressive. --Jeff Shannon

• Philadelphia | DVD | (25/05/1998) from £7.37   |  Saving you £5.62 (76.26%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Philadelphia wasn't the first movie about AIDS (it followed such worthy independent films as Parting Glances and Longtime Companion), but it was the first Hollywood studio picture to take AIDS as its primary subject. In that sense, Philadelphia is a historically important film. As such, it's worth remembering that director Jonathan Demme (Melvin and Howard, Something Wild, The Silence of the Lambs) wasn't interested in preaching to the converted; he set out to make a film that would connect with a mainstream audience. And he succeeded. Philadelphia was not only a hit, it also won Oscars for Bruce Springsteen's haunting "The Streets of Philadelphia," and for Tom Hanks as the gay lawyer Andrew Beckett who is unjustly fired by his firm because he has AIDS. Denzel Washington is another lawyer (functioning as the mainstream-audience surrogate) who reluctantly takes Beckett's case and learns to overcome his misconceptions about the disease, about those who contract it, and about gay people in general. The combined warmth and humanism of Hanks and Demme were absolutely essential to making this picture a success. The cast also features Jason Robards, Antonio Banderas (as Beckett's lover), Joanne Woodward, and Robert Ridgely, and, of course, those Demme regulars Charles Napier, Tracey Walter and Roger Corman. --Jim Emerson

• Doctor Who and the Daleks steelbook | Blu Ray | (20/06/2022) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  An out of this world 4K restoration of Dr. Who & The Daleks (1965), starring British film legend Peter Cushing as everyone's favourite timelord. This was the first big screen film adaptation of British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, and the first time Dr. Who was ever seen in colour! Having invented the TARDIS, a strange machine capable of travelling into other dimensions, the Dr. and his three young accomplices set forth on a quest through time and space. Their journey takes them into the dark, undiscovered depths of the universe and to the planet of Skaro, a primitive world devastated by nuclear war and populated by two warring species, a peaceful tribe known as Thals and a life form heavily mutated by radiation, encased in protective machines, merciless force of destruction known as The Daleks! Product Features The Dalek Legacy: Destination Skaro Restoring Dr. Who in 4K Audio Commentary with critic Kim Newman, screenwriter/writer Robert Shearman, and actor/writer Mark Gatiss Audio Commentary - actors Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey Dalekmania Interview with Gareth Owen Original Trailer Stills Gallery

• City Of Men | DVD | (27/09/2004) from £7.15   |  Saving you £12.84 (64.20%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From the director of 'City Of God' comes 'City Of Men' a television spin-off series chronicling the struggle of Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) and Acerola (Douglas Silva) trying to avoid the drug trade and survive in the violent streets of Rio De Janeiro. These two series of 'City Of Men' nine episodes in all across two DVDS combine a sharp sense of humour with a startlingly grim reality and brings the freshest and most exciting Brazilian talent to the small screen.

• Dr. Who - Die Invasion der Daleks auf der Erde 2150 n. Chr. | Blu Ray | (21/07/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Death Race 2000 | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A brutal coast-to-coast annual race in America in the year 2000. Spectacular action in this win-at-all-costs movie.

• Janacek: Jenufa -- Glyndebourne | DVD | (22/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Janacek's masterpiece Jenufa, captured in this 1989 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production, is among the most revived modernist works. Compared with much grand opera, the story of one woman's struggle to rise free from social constraints at a terrible cost is remarkably poignant, credible and accessible. Scenes are short and intense. The music shimmers with Janacek's characteristic blend of sweetness and sharp dissonance. His men are damaged and angry; his women kick against the expectations of convention. Tragedy is inevitable, but here, unusually, hope triumphs. In the title role, Roberta Alexander is utterly convincing as the stepdaughter of the Kostelnicka Buryja, placing her love and trust in the wrong man with dire consequences. As the Kostelnicka, Anja Silja turns in an equally towering performance, unravelling with the awful consequences of her pragmatism. Alexander's fluid soprano reveals the extraordinary beauty of some of Janacek's finest arias: the moment when she becomes supernaturally aware of her baby's fate--it's "as if death was peering into the house!"--and is actually singing prayers for its soul is quite overwhelming. This Jenufa is sung splendidly; a revelation of the essential humanity which lurks at the heart of the greatest operas. On the DVD: This production was filmed for Channel 4 and has all the hallmarks of a 1980s television broadcast: standard 4:3 picture format which limits the impact of Tobias Hoheisel's magnificent expressionistic set; PCM stereo which somewhat dulls Andrew Davis' sterling, powerful work at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (although the principal singers shine through); poor subtitles; and static freeze-frame links between scenes. As a record of an important production, though, it suffices. --Piers Ford

• The Dalek Collection | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Doctor Who And The Daleks: Eccentric scientific genius Dr. Who activates the T.A.R.D.I.S. a remarkable time machine disguised as an ordinary callbox. But when the Doctor his granddaughters and their friend Ian are transported to the mysterious planet Skaro they discover a race of innocent humanoids under siege by evil robot-like Daleks. Can the Doctor protect this peaceful society from destruction as well as save the entire universe from a diabolical invasion of the future? (Dir. Gordon Flemyng 1965) Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. The remarkable Doctor and his companions use their time machine the T.A.R.D.I.S. to travel to the Earth's future. But when they arrive they discover a battle-raveaged world where mankind has been conquered and enslaved by the diabolical Daleks. Can Doctor Who foil their fiendish plan to mine the Earth's nuclear core? (Dir. Gordon Flemyng 1966)

• Alamar | DVD | (28/02/2011) from £8.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (43.80%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Jorge and Roberta have been separated for several years. They simply come from opposite worlds: he likes an uncomplicated life in the jungle, while she prefers a more urban existence.

• Hungry Hearts | DVD | (15/05/2017) from £5.69   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

• The Brute (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (17/01/2022) from £17.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In The Brute, Sarah Douglas (Superman II) gives a courageous performance as Diane, a glamorous fashion model trying to escape the brutal blows of her sadistic husband, fearsomely portrayed by Julian Glover (For Your Eyes Only). After a particularly savage attack, Diane leaves to stay with photographer friend Mark (Bruce Robinson, writer and director of Withnail & I) and his girlfriend Carrie (Suzanne Stone). Finding solidarity with other victims at a nearby women's refuge, she aims to forge a new life alone, but her violent ex-partner is determined to track her down. Written and directed by Gerry O'Hara (The Pleasure Girls, The Bitch), The Brute is an uncompromising exploitation film which dares to tackle the taboo subject of domestic violence. Unseen since the days of early days of VHS, The Brute now returns in a Blu-ray worldwide premiere.

• What We Have | DVD | (11/04/2016) from £6.05   |  Saving you £9.94 (62.20%)   |  RRP £15.99

  WHAT WE HAVE is is the tale of Maurice, a prisoner of his past who is unable to connect with the people in his new Northern Canadian small town, a community that is only too ready to welcome this European misfit into their arms.

• The Dead Zone | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  One of the very best Stephen King film adaptations, The Dead Zone is imbued with an ever-present atmosphere of dread. Shot in a permanently wintry Canada (standing in for New England), the icy backdrops are subtly employed by director David Cronenberg to accentuate the story’s fatalistic tone. Cronenberg’s welcome emphasis for the most part on psychological terror over physical shocks (something of a change of direction for him after The Brood and Scanners) is further enhanced by composer Michael Kamen’s marvellously chilly music score and Christopher Walken’s understated yet dominating central performance as high school teacher Johnny Smith, who wakes from a coma following a car crash to learn that he has been cursed with the gift of second sight. That his uncanny ability is indeed a curse and definitely not a blessing is made abundantly clear: even when Johnny is able to save people’s lives, there is always a price to pay. The cosmic law of Karma is grimly unforgiving. Herbert Lom, as Johnny’s sympathetic doctor, sums up the character’s plight, "Some things just weren’t meant to be." And even when Johnny learns the terrible secret of future Presidential candidate Greg Stillson (a villainous Martin Sheen), he knows he cannot act without accepting the fatal consequences. Brooke Adams, as the love of Johnny’s life, and Tom Skerrit, as the quietly desperate sheriff on the trail of a serial killer, are excellent in support. On the DVD: this disc comes with a chunky accompanying booklet with background notes on the film, cast and director, as well as a script excerpt for the originally planned pre-credits sequence (in the finished film we assume Johnny’s second sight is a result of the car accident--this earlier screenplay follows the book more closely). The movie itself--which features the "scissor-suicide" scene uncut--is accompanied by a chatty and informative commentary from film critics Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (a regular Amazon.co.uk contributor). Both the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture and the Dolby 5.1 sound are adequate if unexceptional. --Mark Walker

• The Shaggy Dog | DVD | (17/07/2006) from £28.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The first live action movie ever produced by Walt Disney. Fred MacMurray heads an all-star cast that includes Jean Hagen Tim Considine Kevin Corcoran and Annette Funicello in her big screen debut. After years of on-the-job clashes with cranky canines mail carrier Wilson Daniels (MacMurray) sees man's best friend as his worst enemy. This makes for one hairy situation when a magical ring accidentally transforms his teenage son Wilby (Kirk) into a lumbering sheepdog! Can Wilby break

• Psycho Collection | DVD | (26/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Psycho: The classic Hitchcock thriller involving a series of murders at a lonely motel where the deaths are attributed to the mother of the young owner. Psycho 2: Norman Bates is coming home after spending 22 years in a mental institution. He plans to renovate the old Bates Motel the place where his first murders occurred... Psycho 3: The Bates Motel is again the site of some nasty doings as the rehabilitated Norman who has installed a new ice machine att

• Gun Fury | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £8.75   |  Saving you £4.24 (48.46%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Hudson and Reed are newlyweds traveling to the West. Carey in a wonderful performance as a psychotic outlaw kidnaps Reed. Hudson is then forced to pursue the gang and tries to maintain his composure but ends up becoming just as crazed as Carey.

• Cypher | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £9.95   |  Saving you £0.04 (0.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A computer geek is thrilled when he lands a job in corporate espionage but after meeting a mystery woman who seems to know far more than he does, he turns into a double agent. And then his problems really start.

• Eaten Alive | Blu Ray | (13/11/2017) from £14.84   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Meet The Maniac & His Freind. Nearly a decade before he donned Freddy Krueger's famous red and green sweater, horror icon Robert Englund delivered a supremely sleazy performance in Eaten Alive another essay in taut Southern terror from Tobe Hooper, director of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Deep in the Louisiana bayou sits the ramshackle Starlight Hotel, destination of choice for those who like to check in but not check out! Bumbling Judd, the patron of this particular establishment, may seem like a good-natured ol' Southern gent but he has a mean temper on him, and a mighty large scythe to boot Oozing atmosphere from its every pore (the entire film was shot on a sound-stage which lends it a queasy, claustrophobic feel), Eaten Alive matches The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for sheer insanity helped in no small part by some marvellous histrionics from Chain Saw star Marilyn Burns and William Finley (Phantom of the Paradise).

• Dangerfield - Series 2 | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Recently widowed and bringing up two teenage children local general practitioner and forensic surgeon Dr. Paul Dangerfield is a morose and brooding man dedicated to his profession sometimes at the cost of his personal relationships. Episodes Comprise: 1.Down By The Riverside 2.Death In Custody 3.Dem Bones 4.Dr. Stevens' Stalker 5.The Dead Businessman 6.The Call Girl 7.The Body In The Quarry 8.SAS Death 9.The Unfaithful Husband 10.The Norfolk Holiday: Part 1 11.The Norfolk H

• Sharman - The Complete Series | DVD | (01/10/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Sharman: The Complete Series (3 Discs)